The Pirate Queen
by TheBlackDivine
Summary: Isabela gets too drunk to contain painful memories one night and stumbles back to her room to have a painful recounting of the lover she lost.


Isabela sat alone at one of the smaller tables The Hanged Man had to offer, her thoughts clouded by the cheap ale. With her mind in this addled state she recalled memories of her years on the oceans fondly. Then the long-suppressed memories came flooding in, the ones of Reia, the self-proclaimed pirate queen.

She wanted nothing more than to forget Reia had ever existed and carry on with her life. However, this memory refused to be ignored. Isabela stumbled to her room and fell to her knees as the memories overtook her. The former ship's captain held her face in her hands as the first sobs shook her form and the first wave of tears fell from her eyes.

~many years prior~

Isabela smoothed her hair out as Reia approached, the moonlight illuminating the dark blonde hair that cascaded over the beauty's shoulders and the steady thudding noise of Reia's foot and peg-leg steps. The glimmer of the moon on her hook-hand reminded Isabela of the fight last month when she had lost her hand.

"Isabela, you're early."

"I wanted to talk with you. Alone."

"Oh? What about?"

The dark-haired woman sighed heavily and looked into Reia's onyx eyes. "Captain…Reia, I…You and I have been _involved_ for quite some time now, and I…umm, I don't know how to say this. Reia, I'm in love with you." She admitted quickly, avoider her gaze afterward. The blonde's mouth fell open for a few moments before she forced it shut again as she crossed the room and placed her hand on Isabela's chin, lifted her face and kissed her gently.

"I have waited too long for you confession, love."

~present~

She hadn't had the presence of mind to get off of the floor where she had landed, and as her body stiffened from lack of movement and awkward positioning, the tears continually soaked her face and the floor. Memory after memory flooding back.

~a time after the first memory~

She and Reia were dancing out on a lonely dock without any music to be heard, laughing and nearly falling over frequently.

"Isabela, I simply cannot dance. It is near impossible when you have a wooden leg, love."

"Well I tried." She replied, pretending to be put out before collapsing in a fit of laughter.

Their free time had often been spent in such ways, walking and laughing.

~the next memory~

They had sailed to Antiva to pick up some goods and had run into some trouble with a few guards on the docks. Of course they had left port immediately, doing their best to sail away before they could be pursued, and they thought they had succeeded until the following day when a small fleet was spotted rapidly approaching them.

The ship was overtaken, the crew slain and the Captain and First Mate put in shackles to be brought before a court. Though Isabela, being the first mate, managed to escape her cell and rescue Reia on the day they would've been hanged publicly.

~in the Hanged Man~

Her body shook violently as the ever-familiar ache in her chest grew and her cries echoed throughout her room.

~the next memory~

Months and even a year passed without any further incident, she and Reia had been laying low and enjoying the sights further inland.

That is, until Reia surprised Isabela with a ship and a crew one afternoon and they set their eyes on a shipment of silks going to the Free Marches.

The plans were set and when the time came they set sail, having bribed information from a few of the silk ship's crew members.

Everything went according to plan, until they boarded the "silk shipment" and found it to be a well-laid trap with countless mercenaries. The battle that broke out when they resisted capture was noisy, bloody and fast-paced. Both women dodging and slicing gracefully at the large group of would-be captors.

They ended up fleeing back to their ship and swallowing their pride as they slipped into the night.

~a memory mere weeks after that one~

Reia had been injured in the battle, something Isabela found out hours after their retreat when she had collapsed at her desk. And, without a doctor on board, it did as most untreated wounds do, the gash in her side quickly became infected.

There would be no shore to land on for at least a month, and Reia grew weaker by the day. Equally so, as Reia's body grew weak, Isabela grew distant and broken as she watched her lover die.

~on the floor of her room~

Isabela finally sat up, forced the tears to cease falling from her eyes and her breathing to even out. She checked herself in the mirror and just as she declared herself presentable, a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Isabela, are you alright? Varric told me he saw you stumble emotionally in here and he was worried." The warm and familiar voice of Hawke asked through the door.

She smiled softly before answering the door. "I'm fine love, just had a bit too much to drink and the wrong stew."

_It hurts, but things hurt less with him._

**A/N: Well…another unexpected story. What do you think? I live on reviews, so if you would kindly? Also, a thank-you for reading. I look forward to your feedback. **


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